Broken by Genjutsu
by Jewelie-chan
Summary: Naruto had never been the best at genjutsu, but faced against one that was designed to break the mind of the target, how will he fare? Will he defy the odds stacked against him or will this be his final challenge? Mentions of suicide. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto, for once decided to get up early. The streets were empty; the roofs were starting to move with ninjas. The sun had just begun to rise. Today was the day. The day he would finally be paying his tab at Ichiraku Ramen!

Now one might be thinking, "Why is that so important?" Now the reason for this is because his debt is roughly ten years old, adding up to around 112,990 ryo. He finally had enough money after his S-rank mission to take down all of the members of an assassination squad full of missing nin. Shikamaru was the brains behind the plan and managed to dispatch the one that was high jonin level almost by himself. Everyone had worked together and Naruto had used his Rasengan to finish three of them off. Shino had used his bugs to drain the nin's chakra and keep tabs on them. Ino had gotten one of the assassins in the middle to attack the others using her mind techniques, and Sakura had used her skills to support them all.

Shaken out of his thoughts by the wonderful smell of ramen, Naruto was met with the sight that he had come to love. Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hey Old Man! Today's a special day!" Naruto was ecstatic. He felt like he was over the moon.

"What do you want Naruto, I'm busy."

That was odd, Teuchi was always so kind and generous to him. What could be wrong? He voiced this to the Old Man, only to get a cold reply in response.

"What do you care? Just stop _Naruto_." Teuchi spit the name out like poison on his tongue.

"I-"

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I want to be, because you're precious to me, because-"

"Not after what you did to me. To Ayame." Now Naruto was confused, what could he possibly have done to get this reaction from him?

"What?"

"She can't continue her education, Naruto! All because of you! We're in the red! She has to work more so we can earn more money! She quit school for this! All because you won't pay for your meals!" Naruto was horrified. No, this couldn't be happening! This had to be some sick joke. Naruto stumbled back as the consequences of his actions hit him full force. So he dropped his money in the shop's entrance and ran as fast as he could. It didn't matter where, just anywhere away from there, where his worst nightmare came to pass. He had hurt his precious people.

He was running, running, gasping, running, jumping, gasping, and he finally came to a stop. His feet had carried him to team seven's old training grounds. Naruto was hyperventilating and tears were running down his face. Old Man Ichiraku was the first person to treat him with genuine kindness after he had left the orphanage. And now that same person had been hurt by him and his choices. He couldn't help but blame himself for Ayame leaving school. If he hadn't met the Ichiraku's then they would be better off.

Better off… Better off… Better off without meeting him… Better off without him. That's the only conclusion he could reach. He needed to see his other precious people to see how he's affected them before he does anything rash. Surely they would make him feel better, right? Nothing could happen that would make him feel worse than he felt right now.

By this time, Naruto had calmed down and the only evidence of his breakdown was his slightly shaky hands and his red rimmed eyes. As he walked he thought about all the bad things he might have done, indirectly or directly. He came up with so much. What if that bandit he had captured and handed over to the Torture and Interrogation Division last year had only turned to theft and violence to save his wife and children from starvation? Was that why he had that scared look on his face? Had he been worried about getting captured or about an unseen factor? How many families had he broken up that way? What about every other "bad guy" he had faced; had they just been doing it because they were desperate to protect their precious people? There was no way there would be so many truly horrible people as there were bandits and thugs.

Naruto felt sick to his stomach.

Occupied as he was he almost didn't notice the two people in the training ground in front of him, but his shinobi instincts saved him just in time before he was noticed. It was both of his sensei's talking about something that seemed to be annoying them. If they weren't so absorbed in whatever they were discussing, then they would have surely sensed him, making him very lucky indeed.

Naruto strained his ears to hear what they were saying. He had a bad feeling about this.

"… know. He is such an idiot. That baka doesn't know how to do anything right." Jiraiya was the first he heard.

"He's a disgrace as a shinobi. I wish his name had never stained my record for being his sensei." Kakashi had a scowl on his face as he said this, as was obvious even with only one quarter of his face showing.

"Naruto will never earn our respect, no matter what "good" he does. He will always be the monster that took my student and your sensei from us, nothing more."

At this point the tears had begun to run down Naruto's face again. He turned his back and ran. If the people he had closely interacted with didn't respect him, what reason would anyone else have to respect him?

He couldn't take it! First he had caused hurt to his precious people then he had found out that he wasn't respected after all he had done. It was all his fault!

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he sensed Sakura. Quickly wiping his eyes and forcing his mouth into a smile that was too large to be considered normal, Naruto prepared himself for anything that Sakura would throw at him. Be it a harsh insult, or a punch.

"Naruto!" It looked like she was pretty angry.

"Yes Sakura-chan?" His voice was raspy from crying, but Sakura seemed oblivious.

"What did you _do_ Naruto? They call you the demon, so what are you? Don't you _trust_ me? Is it because you were born on the Kyuubi attack? Why would… wait. You- you- you are the Kyuubi, aren't you!? Oh my Kami! I'm on a team with a monster! A demon!" Naruto took a step towards her and she took two steps away. "Back away you monster! Just go die! I don't know why you even made a façade of a human!"

"Sakura-chan-"

"Don't call me that, beast."

"Sakura, I am not the Kyuubi. I am merely the container." She didn't believe him.

"Just don't talk to me, don't look at me. No matter what, we are _not_ friends." Naruto followed what seemed to be a pattern at this point and ran as something else within him broke.

He followed his feet to the Iruka's home, which was closer to the academy than the training ground. Iruka could always reassure him, no matter what. Iruka had even once stayed up all night, neglecting grading papers in favor of keeping him company. And when Naruto had tried to apologize, Iruka had refused to accept it, simply saying that it was his choice and he would gladly do it again anytime Naruto needed it. That memory was one of the most treasured ones because it showed how much he was cared for. Iruka believed in him and thought Naruto could really reach his dreams. Those same dreams would have faded and died without his constant encouragement. In fact, Iruka had comforted him the last time villagers destroyed most of his apartment last week, causing another sleepless night.

When he knocked on the door, he got a slightly muffled, but still distinguishable, "Coming!"

As the door opened, Iruka's face turned from a polite smile to a frown.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" He sounded weary and inpatient.

"I need some support right now." He fully expected to be let in, have Iruka help him calm down and rationalize everything. To hear that they were just lashing out, and that they didn't mean anything they said.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, Naruto."

"Wh- what do you mean Iruka-sensei?"

"Don't call me that!" His words echoed Sakura's that had been spoken not twenty minutes ago.

"I-I… Why not?" Iruka never yelled like that, except when using his big-head jutsu on the class.

"Because I'm no longer a sensei. They felt I was not taking my job seriously enough and when I did, I got too close. Like I'm close to you." Naruto felt he needed to put on his mask of happiness for a bit to cheer Iruka up a bit

"I'm so sorry. But when I'm Hokage, you'll be the head of education stuff! Believe-"

The sound of skin hitting skin resounded through the area. Iruka's hand was stretched out and he was scowling. Naruto's face was turned to the side. Iruka had hit him! He had been slapped by his most precious person.

"Stop! You will never be Hokage, _never_! Do you hear me?!"

Naruto spun around and ran, ran, ran. He wanted to go home. He couldn't deal with anymore blows to his mind. So many shattered perceptions, hopes, and dreams all in one hellish day.

The door to his apartment hung off of the hinges, scratched and battered beyond repair. His kitchen cabinets were in similar condition. Counter tops were torn off and cracked, the refrigerator door lying on the ground. The food was dumped on anything and everything, floors, walls, ceilings, and almost every other surface they had found. There was spray paint spelling out various insults, including 'Demon', 'Monster', and 'Murderer'.

Some of the floorboards had been ripped up as if someone had been looking for a hidden compartment. He was worried; he had hidden some souvenirs that Old Man Hokage had given him. If they had found his money he would be fine, but if they destroyed those, he couldn't just get another, it wouldn't be the same. As he walked to check behind his bed, his stomach sank. They found it. The priceless items that had memories attached to them were destroyed and he couldn't do anything. The fish keychain he had been given for his eighth birthday was because had a fascination with their gills and the ability to breathe with them. The carved sandstone turtle from suna for his fifth birthday. All gone. All of those gifts were gone.

Naruto curled on his shredded mattress and let everything out. Screams of rage. Sobs of deep sadness. Desperate, disbelieving laughs. Whines of pain and hurt. Through all of this, he was chanting in his head, _"I'm not a demon. I'm not a demon. I'm not a demon."_

A knock on the doorframe alerted him to an ANBU's presence in his home. _"No…"_ Naruto thought. He simply was not in the mood for another belittling experience.

"Hokage-sama wants you in her office immediately, Uzumaki-san." The ANBU's voice was monotone, expressionless. There was no warmth or pity for the state of his apartment. Just cold, detached assessment.

"H-hai, ANBU-san." He body flickered back to his duties. Naruto uncurled and stood up finally. He had had to get to Baa-chan. At this point, he had nothing left to lose.

Walking along the streets, Naruto got more hate filled glares than usual. What had he done to upset them?

 _"…Monster…"_

 _"…Doesn't deserve…"_

 _"…Horrible demon…"_

 _"…Evil…"_

 _"…Scum…"_

Complete hopelessness sat like a boulder on his shoulders. His eyes were near empty orbs that were haunting to look at. But no one seemed to notice the very nearly shattered boy.

Naruto was then walking through the Hokage tower, very quickly getting to Tsunade's office. In fact he would have found it odd that everyone was simply staring at him like the Devil itself, had he not been so out of it. Hesitantly raising his hand, Naruto steeled himself and knocked on Tsunade's door.

"Enter." And so, enter he did.

"You summoned me, Ba- Hokage-sama?" He felt that this wasn't the time for jokes or fooling around.

"I've gotten several reports from your comrades all saying the same thing; that you didn't take this line of work seriously."

"Why would they say that?! I- I work so hard, I just tend to smile through pain, that's all."

"You are insubordinate, going against direct orders at times. You are ignorant of correct shinobi protocol in most situations. Need I continue?" She had a look about her that Naruto could only associate with irate shopkeeper's faces as he ran after pranks.

"I- No Hokage-sama."

"Well then hand over your headband."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because if you have no defense of your actions, I have no choice but to suspend you from active duty indefinitely." Naruto sighed in defeat and walked forward, his dream of becoming Hokage crushed. While Tsunade was busy inspecting his headband he walked over to one of the windows overlooking the village. Tsunade looked up.

"Get out of my office."

"Fine." So he jumped through the window with plans of ending it all, aiming his head towards the impact point. Everything turned black as soon as he hit his head. Everything and everyone ceased to exist.


	2. Chapter 2

_Beep, beep, beep_

 _"I'm in a hospital…"_

 _Beep, beep, beep_

 _"I wonder who would care…"_

 _Beep, beep, beep_

 _"My headband's missing, so it was real…"_

Naruto decided to open his eyes, thinking of who would care enough to save him from death. He couldn't think of anyone. He saw Tsunade on the chair next to his bed, Kakashi by the window talking in hushed tones with Jiraiya, and Sakura standing above him looking as if she were worried about something.

"Naruto!" Tsunade sat up with a jerk as she said this.

"Maa, how are you?" Kakashi stopped leaning against the windowsill and looked genuinely interested in the answer.

"Baka, be more careful next time!" Sakura raised a fist, intending to bop Naruto on the head.

Naruto couldn't stand how they were acting like they didn't do anything and everything was back to normal right after he tried to end his own life. Maybe that was a punishment they came up with, knowing that it would hurt him the most. So he started crying, curling in on himself.

Everyone else in the room was shocked at his expression or pain and sadness, for he had always concealed his unhappiness and when he did cry, it was never for himself.

"What's the matter, gaki?" Jiraiya went to take a step forward, only to stay where he was as Naruto wailed harder, tears streaming down his face.

"What hurts?!" Tsunade stood then raised a hand to feel if he had a temperature and he flinched when he thought she was going to hit him.

"G-get away!" His yell startles everyone enough that they take a step back from the bed.

"Everyone out." Everyone stepped out, following their Hokage's order without protest. Tsunade seeing that nothing was helping, tried sensing any imbalances or irregularities in his chakra. There was traces of a genjutsu on all of his senses that had since faded. That must have been why he passed out on the way back from his mission with his comrades! What had happened in that genjutsu? Tsunade signaled to one of the ANBU, telling them too get Inoichi. Naruto realized who this was a started to panic; he didn't mean to anger the Hokage so much that she would send for someone to torture him!

"NO! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" By now, Naruto is sobbing and shaking while he tries to beg for mercy.

"Hush Naruto, it's okay. No one's going to hurt you. You're safe." This just seemed to rile him up more.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Inoichi arrived.

"Hokage-sama, what do you need from me?"

"First help me hold him down so I can sedate him." She motioned to Naruto.

Inoichi held down Naruto's now thrashing body as Tsunade administered the sedative. Naruto soon calmed and started to sleep peacefully.

"Alright, next I need you to check how his mind is holding up. I detected traces of a genjutsu on his person and he's been acting extremely out of character since he woke up. We need to find the damage so we can address it. I understand you don't like to use this jutsu, but-"

"Mission accepted, Hokage-sama." He then started to focus his chakra and mind in preparation for the jutsu.

Inoichi made a string of handseals and the world faded away around him. When he opened his eyes he was in a sewer that he had been in once before shortly after one of Naruto's hospitalizations. This time, however, the pipes running along the walls of the mindscape were rusted and leaking. Everything seemed to have a dreary atmosphere about it. In simple terms his mind was broken. Trying to see what exactly the genjutsu had shown Naruto was the difficult part. He would have to find and go through memories, which he despised doing as it was where a person's most private feelings and experiences were located. So Inoichi started off to find where the memories were in this dump of a mindscape.

After what felt like an eternity of walking in circles, he stood in front of a door. The door was simple, dirty and worn. Made of wood, covered in peeling green paint, the door had a very plain looking handle with a keyhole above it. The lock looked easy enough to bypass, so Inoichi closed his eyes and used his chakra to pick it. The soft click followed by a quiet creak of the hinges was eerie, but the darkness that seemed to pull him into the lurking darkness was worse. Inoichi knew that this darkness was representative of Naruto's current outlook on life. This was not good; in fact this was the worst he had ever seen a mindscapes memory door look.

Going against his instincts telling him to get out of there, Inoichi walked into the darkness. For a few moments it encompassed him completely before a blinding white took over his vision. Then, almost too fast for him to process, a life that was not his own flashed before his eyes. A precious blankie that was too old and ratty for comfort. A first friendship lasting barely a day in the orphanage. A first look at an apartment, then that same apartment being nearly destroyed. Beatings from both drunk and sober villagers. The first day of academy, along with the bullies. The bliss that came from feeling his chakra for the first time. Failing so many tests for the purpose of looking like an idiot… _"Wait, what!"_ Discovering his burden. Meeting Tsunade. Fighting Sasuke. Training with Jiraiya… The list went on for forever. He had an eidetic memory. He never forgot anything. From the faces of his abusers to the words his friends used to insult him with. _"What a_ _horrible curse for someone dealing with everything he's had to go through."_

Finally, the memories of the most recent mission Naruto went on came up. Everything went to plan, but on the way back one remaining member had been about to attack Sakura but Naruto had sensed it and gotten hit by the genjutsu instead. Inoichi watched as all of Naruto's dreams and hopes were crushed by those that he cared for.

Inoichi couldn't believe it. One of the missing-nins had known a forbidden genjutsu on Naruto. This specific genjutsu was extremely potent and it used your own fears against you, showing the target their worst nightmares. It was known to cause the deaths of the target because after they experienced it, it broke them to the point of having no will to live. The fact that Naruto was not in a vegetable like state or trying to kill himself spoke of his incredible will to live and thrive despite his circumstances.

After watching all of Naruto's memories, Inoichi was mentally exhausted. All that was left to do was get out of his mindscape and tell Tsunade of the torture this poor young man had suffered through. Focusing to do just that, Inoichi felt weightless for a few seconds that felt like hours.

Outside of Naruto's mindscape, Inoichi's body stirred. Tsunade jumped to her feet and waited impatiently for Inoichi to wake and tell her what was wrong. When he opened his eyes she could tell that something was bothering him.

"How is he?" Tsunade was worried. One of the things she hated most was not being able to do anything to help a situation.

Inoichi summed it up in one word, "Bad."

During his detailed explanation of what he had seen, Tsunade felt her stomach sinking further and further. How had he dealt with all the hate and mistreatment in his life? How had she let this continue right under her nose? The guilt was a like a palpable weight on her shoulders.

"…Frankly, he's broken and I don't know if he can be fixed." Inoichi finished up his report with a sad sigh.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto lay unnaturally still in a clean white hospital bed. His friends were all in the large room waiting for him to awaken. Everyone in the room had been informed of the circumstances of his hospitalization and they were greatly concerned for their friend. Their ball of sunshine had been reduced to this quiet, deathly still young man. It was unnerving, to say the least.

Hinata, Sakura, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sai, Iruka, and Tsunade were surrounding the bed, waiting for Naruto to open those bright eyes once again. Iruka, with tears streaming down his face unabashedly, held Naruto's hand. Choji and Shikamaru were seated by the door, talking in hushed voices with solemn faces. Ino was sitting right next to them, looking at her feet, and deep in thought. Neji sat at the window looking out and next to him sat Lee, who was, for once, completely quiet. Kiba leaned against the far wall with his eyes closed, trying to keep himself from breaking down. Shino and Tenten sat cross legged next to him playing some sort of card game where their hands moved so fast that they themselves were hard pressed to keep track of them. Most of the room's occupants had tear stained faces.

-Line break-

 _"…You're a monster…"_ Said the voice.

"I know." I whispered.

 _"…You can't do anything right…"_

"I know." I already knew this as a fact.

 _"…You should just die…"_ The voice was adamant that this was true, and I believed it.

"I know." I repeated quietly for a third time.

"Naruto are you awake?" A soft voice. Too soft for a monster like me. She's probably just lying with her tone.

"How are you Naruto?" This time it was a male. He seemed calm but worried. Why? Oh, he's worried that he's talking to me.

I open my eyes. Those people are all there. There are the ones that hurt me, but there are also those I can't name. I should escape, but I don't really care that much. I blink. They all talk at once, vying for my attention all calling me "Naruto." I don't really recognize it. Maybe it's another insult. I blink. Something seems like it's not right… I blink. I try to tell them to stop. My mouth opens, but I can't force anything out. Suddenly everything's silent. I blink. I realize I'm unable to talk or even breathe normally. I try to scream because I can't handle silence. Silence means you're alone. Silence is loneliness incarnate. I close my eyes tightly listening for the slightest sound to tell me I'm not alone. I find the quiet hum of the lights and the constant dripping of water some distance away. My eyelids relax and my panicking stops. I'm not alone. I have the water drops that last for mere moments and the melody of the lights that are replaced by the tune of the night come sundown. I am not alone. And that is enough.

-Line break-

A sudden stillness filled the room as everyone's head turned towards the hospital bed. A mumble and a flicker of eyelids spurred the room into motion.

Still, the room was quiet aside from the soft ruffling of clothing. Then an unexpected voice sounded throughout the room.

"Naruto are you awake?" Hinata spoke soothingly.

"How are you Naruto?" Iruka tried to emulate her tone of voice, but his worry was evident in his voice.

His eyes open and for a moment everyone holds their breath, but Jiraiya interrupts it with, "Kid?"

Then the floodgates open and everyone is fussing over Naruto, lying still in the hospital bed. As they keep asking about how he's doing and such, he opens his mouth to say something, only to stay silent. Everyone quiets after a forceful "Shh!" from shy Hinata. Tears start running down his face. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes. Breathing fast, he closes his eyes and seems to be focusing on something intently. He finds something and his breathing slows and he slips into unconsciousness.

"What was that about?" Shikamaru directs his question towards Ino.

Ino shared a look with Tsunade, then simply says, "A panic attack."

Sakura looked shocked then understanding. She sighed. "I forget sometimes that he can hurt too. It's all his damn façade that he puts up! Why?!" Sakura cries. "It's just not fair that the best of us has to deal with the worst of the world." She put her head in her hands and cried.

"It's not fair, but it is partially our fault. Inoichi reported that the genjutsu cast upon Naruto feeds on his insecurities and would not be so effective had we addressed these misinterpretations and doubts. So when he wakes our mission will be to what we should have done long ago: tell him what we appreciate about him. This may be helpful in his recovery from the genjutsu." Tsunade was in "Hokage Mode" as Naruto liked to call it. She was treating this with the upmost seriousness.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Was the unified answer.

They had a mission to complete.

 ** _A/N- So, I've seen authors reply to reviews in their author's notes and I've been thinking, 'Why not do the same?' So here you go! Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews!_**

 ** _nedrag94- Hope you like it! Sorry it's so short..._**

 ** _Arisa risarisarisa- Aww! I'm so happy that you cried! I mean- uh! No! Not happy that you were sad, but happy that you felt something because of some words I put down. And sorry that it took so long to update… :/_**

 ** _Katatonic97- Thanks! I hope so too, but I've been running short on inspiration recently. P.S: Love yours too! ;)_**


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